(KJV)
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that
woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my
servants to commit fornication,
and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.(1611 KJV) Notwithstanding, I haue a
few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Iezebel, which
calleth herselfe a Prophetesse, to teach and to seduce my seruants to commit
fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed vnto idoles.(1587 Geneva Bible) Notwithstanding,
I haue a few things against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Iezabel, which
calleth her selfe a prophetesse, to teache and to deceiue my seruants to make
them commit fornication, and
to eate meates sacrificed vnto idoles.(1526 Tyndale) Notwitstondinge I have
a feawe thynges agaynst the that thou sofferest that woman Iesabell which called
her sylfe a prophetes to teache and to deceave my servauntes to make them commyt
fornicacion and to eate meates
offered vppe vnto ydoles.

Counterfeit Versions(AMP) But I have this [charge] against you, that you
tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be
inspired], and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit
[acts of sexual] immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols. (CEB) But I have this against you: you put up with
that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. You allow her to teach and to
mislead my servants into committing sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed
to idols. (CEV) But I still have something against you because
of that woman Jezebel. She calls herself a prophet, and you let her teach and
mislead my servants to do immoral things and to eat food offered to idols.

(CSB) But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who
calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit
sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

(ERV) But I have this against you: You let that woman
Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophet, but she is leading my
people away with her teaching. Jezebel leads my people to commit sexual sins and
to eat food that is offered to idols. (ESV) But I have this against you, that you tolerate
that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing
my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
(GNB) But this is what I have against you: you
tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her
teaching she misleads my servants into practicing sexual immorality and eating
food that has been offered to idols. (HCSB) But I have this against you: You tolerate the
woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives My slaves
to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. (PHILLIPS) But I have this against you, that you
tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess, but who by her
teaching deceives my servants into sexual immorality and eating idols’-meat.(LEB) But I have against you that you tolerate the
woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and deceives
my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
(LB) “Yet I have this against you: You are permitting
that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants that
sex sin is not a serious matter; she urges them to practice immorality and to
eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. (THE MESSAGE) “But why do you let that Jezebel who
calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying,
self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no
intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low,
along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games.(NABRE) Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate
the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my
servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (NASV) But I have this against you, that you tolerate
the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My
bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things
sacrificed to idols. (NCV) “But I have this against you: You let that woman
Jezebel spread false teachings. She says she is a prophetess, but by her
teaching she leads my people to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is
offered to idols. (NET) But I have this against you: You tolerate that
woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my
servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (NIRV) ‘But here is what I have against you. You put
up with that woman Jezebel. She calls herself a prophet. With her teaching, she
has led my servants into sexual sin. She has tricked them into eating food
offered to statues of gods. (NIV) Nevertheless, I have this against you: You
tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she
misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to
idols. (NKJV) Nevertheless I have a few things against you,
because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach
and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to
idols. (NLV) But I have this against you: You are allowing
Jezebel who calls herself a preacher to teach my servants. She is leading them
in the wrong way and they are doing sex sins. And they are eating food that has
been given as a gift in worship to false gods. (NLT) “But I have this complaint against you. You are
permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my
servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered
to idols. (RSV) But I have this against you, that you tolerate
the woman Jez′ebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling
my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (VOICE) “However, I have this against you: you have
tolerated that woman Jezebel, who is a self-anointed prophetess and who misleads
My followers to commit immoral sexual acts and to eat food prepared for idol
worship.(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) “‘Nevertheless, I do hold
this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jez′e·bel, who calls herself a
prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit sexual immorality
and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

Affected TeachingThe modern versions all focus in on sexual immorality
while that is not initially in view. What is in view is spiritual fornication
which is a departure from the teachings of Scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ
brings to their attention the things which are causing the church to become
weak. Then the name Jezebel is introduced into the text as one who was causing
the people of God to seduce the Christians and compromise their church by mixing
the true Christianity with false religion.

(1 Ki 16:31-33 KJV) And it came to pass, as if it had
been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and
went and served Baal, and worshipped him. {32} And he reared up an altar for
Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. {33} And Ahab made a
grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the
kings of Israel that were before him.

In 1 Kings 16:31 and following we are introduced to
King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal II who was
king of the Sidonians. When she came into power, her husband had made an altar
to Baal and worshipped that false god. The allusion in Revelation 2:20 to the
Jezebel of Israel tells us that they were permitting an unsaved woman to teach
and that teaching had seduced many in that church. The word “seduced” carries
with it the meaning of “lead astray, delude, or mislead.” Whatever this woman
was teaching was misleading the Christians to commit spiritual fornication which
may have lead to sexual fornication. Whatever her teachings were, they were
definitely of a false religion and had no business inside of the church. She was
also in violation of God’s rules about women teaching in a church. (1 Tim
2:11-12 KJV) Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. {12} But I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
silence. We see the same thing in modern churches where women are now
teaching in churches and even large crowds. Women like Joyce Meyer, Marilyn
Hickey, Gloria Copeland, Paula White and others in the charismatic movement are
teaching and leading people astray with their emotion and prosperity based
gospels. These would not exist if men would not attend their meetings in droves.
(Isa 3:12 KJV) As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women
rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy
the way of thy paths. The problem in Thyatira was the church was permitting
this woman to teach and obviously no one had opposed her teachings. Spiritual
fornication is when one diverts from the true Gospel. We see spiritual
fornication widely spread in the majority of modern churches. Just look at
things like the charismatic movement with its prosperity and barking and
laughter. Then you have the Emergent Church movement with all its Roman Catholic
mystics and its rejection of the Bible. Then there is the acceptance of
sodomites in the pulpit. I could go on but I think you get the message that the
message in view in Revelation 2:20 is not sexual immorality but spiritual
fornication which leads to eternal damnation.